Re: Robot Lifting
 

This is such an elegant solution you should be applauded for thinking outside the box! The one problem I see is the 84in right cylindrical rule. if you make a 28" robot, and you'll have to assume your alliance partner is driving on it's 38" dimension that will determine the size of the platform on the vertical frame assembly. that accounts for 66". Since the rules state that the entire robot in it's finale configuration must fit within an 84" cylinder, I'm not sure you can manage a ramp long enough to allow for a 45 degree ramp angle to accommodate your alliance partner. You may have to do some fancy timed folding. I haven't looked at the numbers close enough so I don't know if that will indeed be an issue.

Steve

Re: Robot Lifting
 

Me and couple of my teammates had this idea that we call "wings". basically we thought of folded arms that unfold outside the robot and create 2 forklift-like platforms on both sides of the robot.


Our mentors said it's impossible and we're gonna break our wings on our first try.
what do you think?

Re: Robot Lifting
 

Nothing is impossible given enough time, weight, and money.

You'll have 150 lbs of robot 2+ feet out from your torsional point. So your ramps will need to support 300+ lb-feet of torsion. Not impossible, but not something to be undertaken lightly.

We were looking at holding to the vertical bar and flipping our robot upside down. At a lever arm of around 4 feet when the bot was horizontal, and considering the grab points on the bar would have been around 6 inches apart, you're lookin at over 1/2 ton of torsion / shear on the tower (and your gripper). Not something we felt comfortable engineering to.

Re: Robot Lifting
 

Someone did something similar to this in 2007. Granted it wasn't as high, but they made it work. I belive they way they did it was each "wing" was rotated up once the alliance partners were on them. Then a leg would pop down to hold the wing in place after power down. It was kinda cool to watch

Re: Robot Lifting
 

That's a lot like an idea I had at the beginning of the year. I'm not doing it because it takes a LOT of engineering to get it right, with almost no room / weight / motors for a kicker.

Re: Robot Lifting
 

Can you fit that inside the 84" FINALE CONFIGRATION cylinder? Your robot alone is about 34" (including bumpers). Your forks could only extend 22 or 24 inches on either side. Would another team take a gamble on balancing on a fork that wasn't at least as wide as their robot?

Re: Robot Lifting
 

THis is why we decided against the ramp/wings idea too.

Re: Robot Lifting
 

Ditto.
The idea came up, but the sacrifices to do it were too great.
If you could do it and still play the game for the other 1:40, it would be bennificial to the team.

Re: Robot Lifting
 

Has anyone found a good hook to order for getting onto the bar? Or, is everyone doing a hook just going to make their own?

Re: Robot Lifting
 

Spiffy, just buy a 1/4" aluminum plate from mcmaster and use a bandsaw to cut your hook out of it.

Re: Robot Lifting
 

At first, I was excited about this idea, but after some time I realized myself the problem -

3 words: Plane of Platform.

This system cannot be static, but if it lifts the ramps above the paltform's plane, no prob.

Re: Robot Lifting
 

you can get "wings" to work, we called them forks

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/27790

Re: Robot Lifting
 

I'm not climbing on that.

Re: Robot Lifting
 

They got redone for IRI that year, less risky

Re: Robot Lifting
 

where did those platforms come from?